Free Self Esteem Program: Confident Me

Teachers, school nurses and counselors: If you implement the FREE 1 or 5 lesson Confident Me! Program by December 15, you could win a chance to attend SHAPE America’s Convention in Boston in March or a state conference of your choice! 9 lucky teachers will be selected in December. Send Samantha@cairnguidance.com the following information: Full Name, Work Email, School(s) Name, District, State, Grades Teaching in 2016, Current Number of Students

The early teen years are one of the most dynamic in terms of development- physically, emotionally and socially. Fitting in and being accepted by peers is central. In fact, brain science tells us that during early adolescence social acceptance by peers may be processed by the brain similarly to other pleasurable rewards, such as receiving money or eating ice cream. This makes social acceptance highly desirable and helps explain why adolescents change their behavior to match their peers.

The drive to be accepted socially can lead to issues like disordered eating, engaging in risky behaviors (like drinking and drug use) or depression. Young people need the support of caring teachers and adults to help them build skills to make healthy choices.

There is growing acknowledgement that social/emotional and mental health of students is a vital ingredient to success in school and beyond the classroom. Self-esteem works in concert with other personality traits, like openness, conscientiousness and belief in one’s ability to overcome obstacles (self-efficacy).

What is the Confident Me curriculum?

Dove’s Confident Me is designed to promote body confidence in a classroom setting. The lessons are aimed primarily at 11-14 year olds, but can also be used with older girls and boys if you think it’s appropriate for your students. The free downloadable materials include a range of curriculum-relevant teaching resources, developed in collaboration with teachers and students. Research has shown that students who participate in Dove Confident Me workshops have improved body image and self-esteem, and they feel more confident to participate in social and academic activities.

The core themes covered in Confident Me include: Appearance Ideals, Competing and Comparing Looks, Media and Celebrities, and Body Talk. There are presentations, teaching guide and student worksheets available to facilitate discussions around body confidence issues.

How can the Confident Me curriculum can help me meet accountability standards for high-quality health education?

The Confident Me program is currently going through a national pilot implementation process to inform how to update and revise the current single-session and five-session programs to be most relevant in the US classroom. This means alignment to the National Health Education Content Standards (NHES), the Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) and the effective practices in health education.

The instruction within Confident Me will support building student knowledge and skills, including analyzing influences, accessing information and advocacy. The HECAT Healthy Behavior Outcomes and knowledge and skill expectations are still to be determined, based on the outcomes of the pilot process.

Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), formerly No Child Left Behind, offers new opportunities for states and schools to focus on the social and emotional wellbeing of students. Provisions allow schools to use funding to develop school-wide health programs, such as implementing positive behavior and social-emotional support strategies. Within Title I, II and IV of the new federal legislation, there are opportunities for during and after-school for programs focused on the social-emotional well-being of students.

How can I get the Confident Me curriculum?

You can find the current programs (both the 1 session and 5 session) here:

Here are the #slowchathealth questions for the week. Answer them as they are released daily, or all at once. Keep the conversation flowing and consider following others involved in the chat.

Q1. How does poor body confidence impact students health, participation/achievement?

Q2. What examples of analyzing influences do you use around body image?

Q3. What impacts student beliefs on appearance ideals?

Q4. What self esteem, body image resources/people do you use/follow?

Q5. Go to http://selfesteem.dove.us/ for more information on Dove’s free Confident Me Program and to learn about the possibility of winning a trip to SHAPE America’s Convention in Boston in March! Will you implement?